One in six Northumbria officers assaulted
ONE in six Northumbria Police officers were attacked at work in the past year, latest figures from the Government have shown.
A total of 528 police officers at the force were assaulted on duty between April 2016 and March this year, according to the Home Office figures.
Jim Gray, Chairman of Northumbria Police Federation, said his members are especially at risk as the force has lost 900 officers since 2010 – making the last count 3,237 officers in total – meaning there is less back-up and more single patrols, but he went on to say that the Federation has been actively pushing for better protection and support for officers.
He said: “After a number of discussions with the Chief Constable and senior officers we are now seeing an uplift in Taser in Northumbria, which is a very welcome and positive move towards affording officers better protection.
“We are also in discussions with the senior officers around our proposal that ‘spit guards’ should be introduced and made a standard part of officers’ PPE. We are also soon to see a ‘seven-point plan’, which is a response plan that sets out minimum standards in terms of investigation and support regarding officers who have been assaulted on duty – it will seek to ensure that officers who have been assaulted in the execution of their duty will be treated, at the very least, as well as any member of the public who is the victim of an assault; we have not always seen that in the past.
“A joint formal launch of this plan, involving both the Force and Northumbria Police Federation is soon to take place and I hope that it becomes ingrained in daily practice.
“We will also continue to explore with the Force how we can improve officer safety, both through examining the working practises of the Force and the protective equipment available to officers. We want to see the continual uplift and roll-out of both Taser and Body Worn Video and we are in discussions with the Force as to how that can be achieved.”
Nationally 25,125 police officers were attacked in the period April 2016 to March this year, according to the document: “Statistics on the number of police officers assaulted in 2016 to 2017, England and Wales”.
“This is a big concern,” Jim added. “Any attack on an officer is an attack on society and the men and women tasked with keeping society safe have a right to do their duty without being assaulted. It should not be accepted by the Police Service or wider society as just part of a Police Officer’s job”.
He added: “An important message I would like to get to our members is that if they are assaulted they must make sure they report it. Yes our members come into contact with violent people and situations every day and they deserve the best protection they can be given.”
• All of this work sits within the Police Federation’s national ‘Protect the Protectors’ campaign, which is seeking to achieve: a change in legislation, tougher sentences, better training and access to equipment, more accurate data on police assaults, and improved welfare support.
On behalf of the Federated Ranks of Northumbria Police, Jim has written to every Member of Parliament with a constituency in the Northumbria Police area, encouraging them to support (MP for Rhondda) Chris Bryant’s Private Member’s Bill, which will go before Parliament on the 20th of October 2017 to create a new offence of assaulting an emergency worker. The Police Federation are encouraging all MPs to support this Bill and to be in the chamber for the debate to ensure it meets quorum, and to vote for the Bill to proceed onto committee. Jim said, “I encourage all officers to lobby their own MPs to support Mr Bryant’s Bill”.